Bodybuilding can be a stepping stone to other great things but only if you know what you’re doing. The Mr. Olympia contest award money in 2015 was $400,000. However, with the overhead including the massive amount of drugs and gut expanding grocery carts full of eats the pros consume, $400,000 might not be an all that great a compensation. Which brings us back to 1975 and stepping stones for other great things, perhaps greater things. The contest award money for the 1975 Mr. Olympia was only $2500. Even adjusting for inflation that still isn’t a considerable amount. Somehow Arnold was able to parlay his Mr. Olympia status into an acting career. Or, maybe it was hardly Olympia status at all. Maybe Arnold just had what it took to be successful in whatever he endeavored. I can easily imagine a guy with the exact same body genetics as Arnold, but different mind, screwing up his proportions, coming in too smooth at contest time, injuring himself, not going to movie auditions, etc… and ending up a virtual blip on the bodybuilding radar much less a movie star or politician.